“The user interface on most cable boxes would never cut it on a smartphone. In fact, most bank ATMs have better designed menus than Comcast, Time Warner, and Cablevision,” Quentin Fottrell writes for MarketWatch. “Which may be why Comcast is exploring a deal with Apple — streamlined and intuitive designs might make TV cool again, and keep some customers from cutting the cord.”
“Apple Inc. is in early talks with Comcast Inc. about a new joint set-top box to stream live and on-demand TV and movies through a ‘managed service,'” Fottrell writes. “An Apple/Comcast set-top box could allow consumers to scroll and search through Apple and Comcast listings as if they were on a tablet computer, and integrate with other Apple devices with a higher quality picture, says technology consultant Jeff Kagan. ‘This is the polar opposite of cutting the cord,’ he says. ‘The big problem with streaming is quality issues caused by hiccups in data delivery.'”
“Apple is already taking steps to build its own content delivery network — servers that carry content across the Internet, says Dan Rayburn, a principal analyst with Frost & Sullivan,” Fottrell writes. “What is clear, he says: Apple is experiencing performance issues with the iCloud. ‘I’m most interested to learn the strategy Apple takes with regards to whether or not they work directly with Internet service providers and the decisions they make on the type of content they plan to deliver,’ Rayburn says. Apple already controls the hardware, the operating system, as well as the iTunes/App store. ‘Right now they control the entire customer experience, except for the way content is delivered to their devices,’ he adds.”
Read more in the full article here.